Tales of the Evabon
by Jet556
Summary: When the ThunderCats come to the fabled Valley of the Tombs, they learn the stories of those buried there and the history of the Evabon. They are warned however to not enter any of the tombs.
1. Chapter 1

**Welcome, gang. As I started writing this story, I ended up mentally casting actors for the voices of my characters. William Smith for Gard, Keith David for Zuvowang, Jim Carter for Dalv, not that some of them will be appearing but by actually giving them a voice it helps me picture them better. What's that you say? Jim Carter has never done voice work? Check out Shakespeare: the Animated Tales! He did the voice of Mark Antony in Julius Caesar and Jim Carter has always been an actor I like.**

**Awe Inspiring**

The ThunderCats stood in awe as they stood before the Valley of the Tombs. A place that legends were spoken about, it was the burial place of the Evabon from their golden age. There was something wrong about it though. There were only four tombs, but still those four dwarfed even Thundera.

"I believe Jaga would have used the term 'colossal.'" Cheetara starred at the valley. How any non-evabon could not have found it before now was beyond her.

"Just Jaga?" Lion-O shook his head.

"Our father would have used that same term." Tygra starred the closest tomb. He started to walk towards it until an arrow flew past him. Everyone turned around to see a group of evabon, led by a leathery red evabon with a slender build. He was the one holding the bow that the arrow had come from.

"Not another step." The leader starred at the ThunderCats with untrusting eyes. "That first one was just a warning, if you try to get any closer you won't be living." Panthro walked towards the leader and starred down at him. He must have only been a foot shorter than Gard.

"Who are you to order us around?" Panthro found to his surprise that the leader had been bending over. As the leader straightened his back, he revealed that he was in fact taller than Panthro, by about an inch or two.

"We are the guardians of the tombs, and I am our leader: Autolycus." Panthro backed away from Autolycus, fully understanding why these evabon were so hostile. "Gard has spoken highly of you, ThunderCats, but still I won't allow you to enter the tombs."

"You've met Gard?" Kat walked towards Autolycus. This leathery red evabon just walked past him, not even noticing Kat.

"About three hundred years ago, when I was young, the body from the tomb at the far left was stolen." There was a look of shock on all of the ThunderCat's faces. Steal a body? Why would anyone do such a thing? "You can stay in the valley but you cannot enter the tombs." Lion-O nodded in agreement. "We'll stay nearby but not in plain sight to stand guard. Don't try any funny business." The tomb guardians dispersed, going in their own directions but into the valley. Some practically vanished within a few seconds. The ThunderCats just could not understand who would steal a body.


	2. Chapter 2

**Welcome back, gang. For Autolycus I ended up mentally casting Adam West. You ever see the show Laverne and Shirley? I saw an episode at my grandparents one time that had Adam West in it where he played an acrobat who started dating Laverne because she looked liked his deceased partner. That wasn't funny and that show was a comedy. You know what that was? That was dramatic and sad. As for the new character Terag I ended up mentally casting Tim Curry. Also, I've been considering bring Balor into this story but leaving Gard out of it in order to further develop Balor as a character.**

**More Than What Appears On The Surface**

Lion-O and Pumyra walked towards a tomb. There was one evabon near the tomb's entrance. With muddy brown skin and about thirty-eight years of age he was missing his left hand completely. He was missing his right eye, as identified by the eye patch. His left eye was a dull red his right eye had been the same color. As Lion-O and Pumyra neared the entrance, this evabon starred at the two.

"No entrance for the two of you." Lion-O and Pumyra looked at the mud colored evabon. He couldn't possibly stop them from entering. He had one hand and one eye. "Don't think me unable to defend the entrance. I gave up my eye for knowledge and my hand for my life. I can still fight, better than even Autolycus himself!" Lion-O and Pumyra looked over at a large sword near the evabon. If he could lift that with one hand then they believed what he said. "Name's Terag and you two must be Lion-O and Pumyra."

"How do you know who we are?" Pumyra starred at the cover for where Terag's left hand would have been.

"I've met evabon who have met you." Terag stood up and walked towards the two cats. "But what you're wondering is why does this valley have only four tombs in it."

"I'm not going to question how you guess so well." Lion-O's comment made Terag laugh. He lifted his left arm and pointed at the tomb he guarded the entrance to.

"Look at Leir's tomb." Terag then pointed at another tomb. "Look at Marcius' Tomb." Terag pointed at another tomb. "Look at Nomit's Tomb." Terag then pointed at the tomb that had been stolen from. "Look at Saec's tomb." He then put his arm down. "Those are only the tombs on the surface. There is countless other tombs down below."

"Have you seen them?" Terag shook his head. Pumyra raised an eyebrow. "Then how do you know they are down there?" Terag pointed at the entrance of Leir's tomb. There was a twisted smile on his face as he pointed into the tomb.

"Not in Leir's but in the others there are entrances to the vast labyrinth down below." Lion-O and Pumyra starred into the darkness of the tomb. If what Terag said was true then he must have guarded the other tombs also. "We keep finding the bodies of thieves down there that never found their way out. You can get lost in that vast network of tombs." Terag laughed happily. Lion-O and Pumyra were both wondering the same thing. Had he lost his mind? "We never get lost down there. We guard the tombs so we know how to get in and out of there."

"So thieves have never come out from there alive?" Terag shook his head. Lion-O starred at Terag, wondering if this evabon found pleasure in hearing about the dead thieves that were found. Lion-O and Pumyra started to walk away once Terag's cruel pleasure started to come to the surface. As they walked away, Terag gave a shout to them.

"If either of you meet young Montmarte, don't give him the chance to attack. He attacks any non-evabon he sees on sight. Wouldn't want the two of you to end up victims of his hatred. I might have my quirks but he's downright bloodthirsty!" Lion-O looked back at Terag at this bit of information. Montmarte sounded like he could have been a descendant of Procyon, or more likely Thomeheb. He only hoped the other ThunderCats had been warned about Montmarte. The adults could probably defend themselves but the kittens? Lion-O could only wonder what Montmarte's reason for being so bloodthirsty could be.


	3. Chapter 3

**Welcome back, gang. I have not thought of a voice for Balor but I'm up for suggestions. Oh, and for Asaji I ended up mentally casting Mae Whitman. Enjoy.**

**The Tale of Leir**

Autolycus looked at Terag. He was playing a game of natej against himself. Autolycus starred in disbelief. That was just sad but it was also distracting.

"Have you lost your mind?" Terag moved a piece and then looked back at Autolycus. "You're suppose to be on guard duty and you're playing a game?" Terag sighed. Every time!

"Relax, Auto!" Terag moved another piece. Autolycus hated being called 'Auto' but Terag didn't know that. "Iago will be relieving me of my duty any moment now!"

"Can't you for once take your job seriously?" Terag moved another piece.

"Well forgive me for finding my job boring without anyone to talk to." Terag moved yet another piece. Autolycus sighed.

"I was told you wanted to see me." Terag nodded, finally beating himself at natej. Autolycus found this amusing and wondered if Terag had a split personality.

"Yes, Lion-O and Pumyra were here asking questions."

"Who?"

"The lion and the puma."

"Who?"

"The cat with the red hair and the cat with the brown hair." Autolycus nodded understanding who Terag was talking about. "They were asking about the tombs." Autolycus scratched his chin.

"Were they now?" Terag nodded in response. "Are they-"

"No, they aren't in the tomb of Leir." Terag started to reset the board as a younger evabon, gold in color and with skin covering where the right eye should be, arrived. "Your turn Iago! Just remember to keep your eye open." Iago laughed. The humor when it came to eyes was hilarious since both Terag and Iago had only one but Autolycus could not understand what was so funny since he lacked a sense of humor. Terag then turned back to Autolycus. "I think they might be talking with Asaji." Autolycus raised an eyebrow.

"Why would anyone want to talk to her?" Terag sighed and shook his head.

"I know you wanted a son, Auto, but try and show some respect to your daughter." Terag picked up his sword and put it in his sheath. He then grabbed a fruit from a nearby tree. He looked at Autolycus. "You hungry?" Autolycus shook his head. "Good." Terag took a bite out of the fruit. "Asaji is the keeper of the records so obviously someone would want to talk to her." Autolycus wasn't paying attention to anything Terag said. He was paying attention to the fact Terag was talking with his mouth full. That was why Terag wasn't married. No one wanted to talk to him when he was eating. No one wanted to be around him when he was eating. Terag was just too talkative, one of his many quirks but not one of the ones he was aware of.

"Thanks for telling me and don't forget your natej set" Autolycus walked away. Leaving the talkative fruit muncher to himself as he started to talk Iago's ear off.

The records were kept in a large hall, made around the time Marcius' was buried to keep the records of those buried in the Valley. Asaji, Autolycus' daughter, had become the record keeper after the previous keeper had been killed a few years ago when the valley had been attacked by dogs trying to ransack the tombs in order to make buildings in their city. No dogs ever returned to their city but still the guardians of the tombs stood vigilant to protect just the tombs from not only be stolen from but also from being ransacked to be used for building supplies.

Asaji was thirty years old and was born when her father Autolycus was fifty-two and her mother was thirty-nine. Her mother had since passed on but Autolycus was still there, still unhappy about not having a son to pass on his warrior skills to. With light blue skin, reddish brown eyes and black hair, Asaji had softer features than her father. The reason for this was that evabon women could fight but would only fight to protect their home and family thus resulting in Asaji only having a small scar on his right thumb. Evabon men, being full of scars had harder features and as such didn't look as gentle as the women or even the children who were forbidden from fighting until they reached adulthood. Asaji's garb was a sort of dress or robe that was red in color that once again had to do with gender. Evabon men dressed in only from the waist down, so everyone would be able to see the scars they obtained while the women wore clothing that covered nearly their entire body except for their hands, faces and feet.

It was perhaps this stark contrast between man and woman that caught Lion-O and Pumyra off guard. Having seen more men than women, Asaji was far more deceptive than her father. With Autolycus they could tell he was a force to be reckoned with since he looked liked he had survived being impaled on a spear and having his head repeatedly smashed by a door. With Asaji on the other hand the only visible scar was a small one on her right thumb but they did not doubt her skill when it came to protecting herself.

"So you two came here to learn about Leir?" Asaji stood in front of both Lion-O and Pumyra. She starred at both of them. She was surprised that as talkative as Terag was he didn't tell them anything about Leir. "Well, I should start by asking you two if you know who Antaeus is." Pumyra shook her head. Lion-O on the other hand nodded.

"Gard mentioned him a few times, even claiming that he is the reincarnation of Antaeus."

"Given how much he resembles the statue in the center of the valley I think that claim is true."

"You met him?" Gard had never mentioned having been in the Valley of the Tombs. Given how it well it was protected it was obvious Gard wouldn't have mentioned.

"Once, when he passed through here on his way to Mount Supmylo." Lion-O knew how long ago it was. It was when Gard had gone to confront his brother. Lion-O had believed Procyon to be a monster but as Gard had told them the next time they met, Procyon had been cursed with a bloodlust that only he had managed to overcome by sacrificing himself. "Leir lived about ten centuries before the birth of Anateus so naturally none of the evabon you've met over the age of one hundred will be mentioned." Asaji handed Lion-O a book with strange writing on it. Lion-O and Pumyra flipped through it. They couldn't read any of the writing in it. They both looked at Asaji with curious looks. "You can't read our writing can you?" They both shook their heads. "I see I'm going to have to read this to you." Asaji took the book and started to read from it.

Leir had descended into madness after foolishly splitting his estate between his three sons based on their flattery. His two elder sons Bladud and Corineus had showed much love towards their father, while the youngest son Locrinus only loved his father as a son should. In anger, Leir banished Locrinus and split his inheritance among his elder brothers. Almost instantly Bladud and Corineus cast out their father. Chaos ensued between the elder sons and by the end of it all father and sons had died. This was a tale of madness and betrayal one that could happen to races other an evabon.

After hearing the tale, Lion-O placed a hand on his forehead. Pumyra on the other hand shed a few tears. This valley was a place where the sad were buried. How could such a place exist?


	4. Chapter 4

**Welcome back, gang. In order to have this story focus on more than ThunderCats than just Lion-O and Pumyra, the next few will be focusing on Tygra and Cheetara. For the new evabon in this chapter, Sothap, I ended up mentally casting Scott McNeil: read Sothap's dialogue in Dinobot's voice. **

**Sympathy**

Tygra and Cheetara both walked towards a tomb. All of their group had dispersed to get some information from the evabon, wondering if they knew the location of any stones but instead found themselves wondering about who was buried here. So Tygra and Cheetara decided that they'd try to get information from one of the tomb guards.

The guard they attempted to get information from was a rather unlikable evabon. While Tygra attempted to get information from this white skinned evabon, Sothap, Cheetara was starring into the tomb, trying to make sense of the markings on the walls.

"Go away!" Sothap started push both the tiger and the cheetah.

"Sothap, can't you be sympathetic?" Cheetara kept trying to look at the markings but the further she was pushed the less of the markings she could see. Sothap was stron, she'd admit that, even if he was unlikable.

"Sympathetic? Ha!" Sothap stopped pushing the two by the time he reached the statue of Antaeus. He shook his head. "Too many times I've been fooled into being sympathetic so I could let my guard down and thieves could sneak into the tomb of Marcius."

"Has anyone ever stolen anything?" Tygra wasn't looking at Sothap. He was looking at the statue of Antaeus. The resemblance to Gard was uncanny. Sothap had just started to scratch his arm. Tygra and Cheetara both took note of this, Sothap noticed they had noticed and glared at the two.

"Don't you two try to get past me by turning invisible or running really fast. You're not the first tiger and cheetah I've encountered so I know how to stop you two." Tygra and Cheetra weren't even looking at Sothap any more they were looking past him.

"What about monkeys?" Sothap turned around and sure enough there were a few monkeys entering Marcius' tomb. The look on Sothap's face was far from what he was saying.

"I am calm." Sothap didn't look it and he didn't sound calm either. Tygra and Cheetara both watched as Sothap started to clench his tremendous fists in anger. He then turned to look at the two cats. "Now see what you've done!"Tygra and Cheetara both looked at each other. They hadn't exactly done anything. Sothap had pushed them too far from his post so it wasn't really their fault. Sothap immediately jumped towards the entrance of Marcius' tomb. Tygra and Cheetara followed. As unlikable as he was, they couldn't let Sothap go in alone.


	5. Chapter 5

**Welcome back, gang. I main reason for writing Evabon stories without Gard was to go more into Evabon culture. At first I wasn't even going to gives Gard's race a name but I ultimately did because I felt that it made him less generic. I ultimately decided to create more Evabon characters to explore the race more. I wanted to give them a culture, make them more connected to the elements, which you can see a bit of if you look closely, they are closer to nature than some. Actually if you've actually paid attention closely you'll notice that there is a bit of an earth motif with them, some of them are more subtle than others. Anyway this chapter is more to show how simple the evabon are.**

**Art**

As Sothap ran after the monkeys, he stopped. There was a reason to this. As he kneeled down and looked at some sand on the floor of the tomb he heard someone coming up behind him. Quickly he started to rub the sand on himself. He stood up, the sand on himself causing him to look ghostly. As Tygra and Cheetara appeared Sothap's eyes nearly closed. He wasn't happy and his eyes always nearly closed when he wasn't happy.

Tygra and Cheetara didn't say anything. Just the look on his face, starring at them from nearly closed eyes. They understood how he was just from that look. Sothap nodded and gestured for them to follow him.

As they followed Cheetara looked at the markings on the tomb walls. They telling a story but she unfortunately had no time to look at them.

They came to a bridge and as they crossed to the burial chamber, Tygra looked down. He saw a vast network of passages. It seemed that the tombs were nothing more but caves initially, caves that had been turned into caves through the artistic skill of the evabon. When Tygra had been in Balor's village he saw that they were more artists than anything, naturalistic, with strong connections to the earth. Tygra could only wonder what could have caused such artistic creatures to become more war-like. He started to worry that his people's arrival on Third Earth had caused this. Gard had never given much information on his people's history. Tygra couldn't have helped but think that the evabon might have at one point been the perfect race: peaceful, artistic, less willing to change the land around them. Even after he had been told the reason for Gard's exile, he had trouble believing it. Draba, the slave he had met had him convinced that evabon couldn't be violent but after seeing Thomeheb he was so confused.

They finally reached the burial chamber. WilyKit had described the cave that Thomeheb had brought her to: a mushroom cave lighted by glowworms and fireflies. It was so simple. The body had a blanket of moss over it. Marcius, Sothap had called the one buried here. How could anyone treat these people so artistic, so naturalistic so simple… like this? Why would anyone steal from their dead?


	6. Chapter 6

**Welcome back, gang. As you've told from my previous stories, I'm not that good at action. The action scenes I write aren't bad but they aren't good either, so don't expect anything great here. Enjoy.**

**Deep in the Tomb**

The monkeys were scattered around the burial chamber. Looking for treasure. The little treasure they could find wasn't even treasure at all just a scroll with writing on it. Furiously, one of the monkeys tore the scroll to pieces.

As Sothap, Tygra and Cheetara watched this, it was the evabon who was the angriest. Watching these thieves, Sothap clenched his fists. The closest of them was only a foot away and they didn't even see them in the entrance to the burial chamber, to preoccupied with searching it.

Sothap stretched out a hand and grabbed the nearest monkey by the neck. Tygra and Cheetara starred in horror as in a few seconds the monkey had become a limp thing in the evabon's grip. Sothap gave them a look that said 'This is the only way.' Tygra and Cheetara both starred at the dead monkey in Sothap's grip. This couldn't have been the only way.

Within seconds, Sothap entered the burial chamber, brutally attacking the thieves. Tygra and Cheetara watched in horror as it wasn't Sothap that was being beaten but the monkeys. While Sothap quickly dispatched the monkeys, he took great care not to touch the body of Marcius. When it was all over the two ThunderCats walked into the burial chamber, shocked at the broken bodies of the monkeys.

"You're sure this is the only way?" Tygra starred at one of the bodies. The face looked less monkey-like. Sothap had punched the face so hard to the point it more resembled a lizard than a monkey.

"It is the only way I know." Tygra thought for a moment. Could his own people have been any different from this before the fall of Thundera? It just didn't seem possible but the more he saw of Third Earth the more he thought about how Thundera's people could have been like that.

"What about their families?" Cheetara's question caused Sothap to raise an eyebrow.

"What about them?" Tygra and Cheetara were both shocked by this answer. How could Sothap be so heartless? "Family isn't something to be loved. Look at Leir, betrayed by his two elder sons and the entire run the entire family was destroyed. I was doing these thieves a favor. One's worst enemy is their own family, the story of Leir is an indication of that." Tygra and Cheetara had no idea what Sothap was talking about but both thought that Sothap didn't remember the tale very well. Tygra and Cheetara's eyes then looked past Sothap. Sothap followed their gazes and gasped at the sight before him. "Marcius…"


	7. Chapter 7

**Welcome back, gang. Now with Marcius I had to cheat a bit. Since he was born before the 'trade language' he should only be speaking the evabon language. To get around that I came up with the concept that when it comes to spirits they speak a language understood by everyone, which might make sense. As a voice for Marcius I ended up mentally casting Anthony Hopkins. Also by having Marcius be aware of his predicament it makes him all the more interesting. Enjoy.**

**The Tale of Marcius**

Marcius' spirit, unable to become a celestial, unable to become an eternal, unable to go into a cycle of reincarnation, stood there completely white like he was made from marble. Tygra and Cheetara starred in shock. They didn't know if it was because of the violence in his burial chamber or the fact living people were in his tomb that the spirit stood there.

They both noticed how vaguely Thunderan Marcius' clothing looked. It caused them to wonder if the way Thundera had been during the time of its fall was the way the evabon were during the time of Marcius. It seemed to make sense.

"One of my own kind and two of the kind whose spirits I've been seeing a lot of for the last millennia or so." Marcius moved forward, not as much walking as hovering, moving straight through Sothap and stopping in front of Tygra and Cheetara. "At least I think it was a millennia. I've been here so long, unable to leave my tomb while other spirits pass by."

"Four hundred and ninety three years before the birth of Antaeus." Sothap's muttering was not unheard. Upon hearing this Marcius turned, his body still hovering, no movement at all. No movement from any part of the body, he just turned as if he was on a rotating platform.

"I know of him, although born after my death I know of him." The expressionless look on Marcius' face caused Sothap to be quite nervous. It was like a death mask and Sothap always found masks to be a bit frightening. "He can move on through reincarnation and I can't!" He turned around and looked at Tygra and Cheetara. "My spirit is trapped here and I've just about faded into myth resulting in people like you not knowing my story." Marcius once again turned around to look at Sothap. "I doubt even you know. Well, do you?" Sothap swallowed and nervously shook his head. Marcius had both an expressionless face and voice and Sothap was so nervous that to Tygra and Cheetara, he looked like he was about to have a mental breakdown. "You also don't seem like the patient kind to listen to a long story." Sothap nervously sat down next to Marcius' shrouded body. He just couldn't stand this spirit knowing everything about him. "My tomb is a prison and I can't move on. The life I had has trapped me here." Cheetara moved towards the spirit, hovering before her. A lot of what Marcius was talking about she understood because of her being a cleric.

"May I here your tale?" Marcius turned around, once again and starred at her. He starred at her with critical eyes. To Marcius, she was no more alive than he was.

"In life I was the noblest of my people. A great general of a great empire." Tygra's eyes widened. The description of Marcius' time fit Thundera too well. A great empire! It just didn't seem possible. "I led my city's soldiers against an enemy tribe, filled with nothing more but peach skins!" Marcius was prejudiced. Tygra could tell. Cheetara could tell. They only wondered what his skin color could have been in life. "Finally I was convinced by my to become consul. I was hesitant but I bowed to the wishes of she who convinced me, my mother. I won the support of the commoners and the senate. I was later condemned as a traitor for so much as showing compassion to my enemies by not wanting to kill children. Those who banished me caused me to retort I banished my city from my presence. They were speechless as I left and after being exiled I went to my defeated enemies who embraced me as the victorious conqueror and they allowed me to lead an assault on my city. Emor in it's panic pleaded for me to stop my crusade for vengeance and failed! Then who should come to me bowing but my mother, wife and children. They persuaded me to make a peaceful treaty between Emor, my city, and Icslov, the city of my former enemies. When I returned to Icslov they branded me a failure and a traitor and they killed me!" Tygra and Cheetara didn't know what to say to that. It was just so sad. "I am a traitor, twice over."

"Do you really believe that?" Tygra looked at Marcius. He didn't expect an answer.

"I don't know. I just don't know." Marcius then faded away. Tygra had learned from the spirit that truly no species was perfect. Any species could be prejudiced. But to be considered a traitor twice over? That was something that he couldn't comprehend.


	8. Chapter 8

**Welcome back, gang. These next few chapters can be considered a bit of an intermission between Marcius' tale and the next tale. I have still yet to give Balor a voice, so I will take suggestions. Enjoy.**

**Sanctuary**

An hour later, Lion-O, Pumyra, Tygra and Cheetara met back at the ThunderTank. Panthro and the Wilys were there too they hadn't gone anywhere. Autolycus' warning was something they heeded but when Tygra and Cheetara had left the Tomb of Marcius, an argument between Autolycus and Sothap had started. It would seem the leader of the guardians didn't like having non-evabon in the tombs and from what they heard about a body being stolen he had good reason.

As the ThunderCats discussed what they had found out a revelation began to dawn on them. They had been told the Evabon were monsters but what they learned from their history was that the Evabon were no more monsters than Mumm-Ra was a god. They were a people with a history as grand as any others.

While they discussed what they had learned, a commotion came to their ears. As they walked towards the location of the commotion, a familiar voice came to their ears: the voice of young Balor. Autolycus, Asaji, Terag and Sothap were all standing around the eight-year old, some of them looking more aggressive than others.

"In my day, any gray-skinned child would be taken out into the wilderness, just after it's born, and be abandoned to die!" Autolycus' comment caused a shocked look to appear on Panthro's face. That was barbaric! To think Autolycus could be so prejudiced. Panthro had been prejudiced once but never to the extent Autolycus was!

"Yes, well, the clan you came from is still prejudiced towards gray skins." Lion-O watched as Terag scratched an itch on his neck. It was almost like the itch was Autolycus' prejudice. It was an interesting way of taunting someone and there was a clear look of agitation on Autolycus' face from both Terag's comment and scratching. Terag was loudly scratching that itch and the sound of the scratching made the older Evabon grind his teeth.

"Father, we can't deny someone sanctuary." Autolycus slowly turned his head to look at Asaji. "But we can't just send him away. Gard sent him here for protection."

"We just can't let this hunter get him." Tygra and Cheetara both starred at Sothap. He was showing something he hadn't shown towards either of them. Whether it had to be because Balor was another Evabon or not, they weren't sure. Whatever the reason Sothap was showing compassion for another living being. "If what this boy said is true then the hunter is a danger to all of us." Sothap walked closer to Autolycus and started to speak into the older Evabon's ear. "Look at the bigger picture! This Hunter means to hunt our race to extinction. This is no time to be prejudiced. We have to protect young Balor, here." By this time, besides the ThunderCats, many more Evabon were looking at Autolycus. Autolycus saw the look in their eyes. He knew he was only leader as long as he had everyone's support. If he didn't then he would have to face challenger after challenger. At last, Autolycus breathed, not unlike how Gard would.

"I'll… think about it." Autolycus walked away, everyone watched him as he did. Finally, the crowd started to disperse. The Wilys ran up to Balor. They were all surprised to see each other. As the young friends caught up, the older ThunderCats walked towards the Evabon who had not supported Autolycus' idea of not giving Valor sanctuary.

"How'd you find your way here?" Kit was as confused as Kat. How did Balor know where to go? Had Gard told him? They had found the valley by accident. Gard must have told Balor where to go.

"I just knew where to go." Balor scratched his head, unsure of how he knew. "I don't really know how I found my way here."

"Every Evabon knows how to get here even if they've never been here before." Asaji explained to the older ThunderCats. Balor couldn't really explain to the Wilys but Asaji could give a good enough explanation to the older cats. "You can blindfold an evabon and they can still find their way here. Without map or compass we can still find our way here even if we've never been here. It is all because this valley is where our race had its beginnings, long before the tombs were built, this is where our race started."

"You have strong ties to this place." Asaji nodded at Pumyra's observation. It made sense. The Evabon would have strong ties to the place where their humble beginnings had begun. A feeling of dread started to come over Pumyra. Couldn't the Hunter have followed Balor here?


	9. Chapter 9

Welcome back, gang. I'd like to thank Heart of the Demons for suggesting Davis Cleveland for the voice of Balor. I checked out "Shake It Up" and while I found the show stupid and I really agreed that Davis would make a great Balor. Voicing a child who is the member of a shunned race, to play a character like that would really be good for Davis. As for Gard, with William Smith retired, I went to my second choice: Scottish actor Brian Cox. With the adult Evabon, I sometimes choose characters who have done Shakespeare, it's that great test that many actors take, and while I always heard William Smith's voice as Gard, I also heard Brian Cox's voice. Both men have what it takes to voice Gard and I think either one of them would be perfect as Gard.

**Who is the Hunter?**

"There has been talking about this hunter some time now." Sothap held up a drink and looked at it. As everyone sat in the record hall, Sothap starred at his drink. "We're certain this is water and not ramlack blood?" Terag shook his head.

"Twenty-five years and ramlack blood is water you idiot." Terag took a drink of water. He later stuck out his tongue in disgust. "Did this come from a swamp?" Asaji hit Terag over the head. When Sothap was complaining, it was not annoying, when Terag was complaining it was annoying. Asaji sat at a table where the ThunderCats were also sitting.

"The Hunter is… we don't know who he is, or even what he is, all we know is that he is a he." Asaji looked down at her hands. This was hard for her to explain. "The Hunter is just someone who kills us for killings sake." Panthro looked away. He had some guilt. In his youth he had participated in an evabon hunt, after hearing about this hunter, there was guilt in his heart, too much of it. Could he have at one point been the hunter? He hoped not. Panthro was starting to wonder just who this hunter was. Another cat? If Grune were still alive he soon wouldn't be. But how could Grune still be alive? It wasn't possible!

"Panthro?" Panthro turned his head and looked at Tygra. "You alright?"

"Just thinking." Panthro didn't know what to tell everyone. He was just so confused. Could the hunter have been connected to him in some way? "Whoever the hunter is, I wouldn't be surprised if he's connected to Mumm-Ra in some way or another."

"Gard will take care of him." Tygra sat back in his chair. He was sure of the old evabon. "He's lasted this long. How do we know this hunter is a danger to him?"

"He thought Balor was in danger." Cheetara placed a hand of Tygra's shoulder. "If Gard is killed then he won't be able to protect Balor." Asaji nodded.

"The hunter is a force to be reckoned with." She looked at the ThunderCats with worried eyes. "The hunter has killed many of my people, far more than any army." She closed her eyes. "He can't be stopped."


	10. Chapter 10

**Welcome back, gang. Enjoy the last part of this intermission before the next batch of chapters dealing with the Evabon's history. For Sotark, I mentally cast Phil LaMarr. Enjoy.**

**Sotark**

Deep beneath the surface, Autolycus starred at the imprisoned Evabon before him. Trapped in a crystal, stood an Evabon of great height. Standing at a height of eighteen feet with peach skin, this giant of an Evabon was something that Autolycus feared.

An evil thing was trapped in that crystal. A monster named Sotark was trapped in that crystal. A monster that had killed his father and wife for power and survival, that was one of the things that were protected.

Autolycus starred, he starred with critical eyes. To him Sotark was a disgrace to the evabon race. He found that the punishment Sotark had been given was fitting. To be imprisoned in a crystal until the end of time.

"Free me!" Autolycus shook his head. That voice in his head! Sotark's voice! Temptation had a voice and it was Sotark's. "Free me!" Autolycus placed his hands over his ears. "What is it you want most?" Autolycus fell to his knees. He just wished Sotark's voice would get out of his head. "A son? So you were cheated out of having a son by your wife's death leaving you with just a daughter."

"Leave me alone!"

"Leave you alone?" A mocking laughter started to ring through Autolycus' head. "You are the one who won't leave me alone! I won't be escaping unless someone frees me. So why do you, one of my prison guards, come here so often?"

"I come to make sure no one has freed you."

"So you say." Autolycus removed his hands from his head. "But I see into your heart and deep down you are wishing for the one thing you can never have. You are confused and eventually you will free me, to have the thing you can never have."

"Never!"

"I have been imprisoned here long before any were buried." Autolycus stood up and started to walk away. Sotark's voice was still in his head. "I know many things and I'm ever wrong. The future is a straight line and you will free me."

"Be careful, 'wise one.'" A grin appeared on Autolycus' face as he walked away. "A line can be split." And with that Autolycus left the chamber that housed the imprisoned Sotark. He left with intentions to never return to that chamber.


	11. Chapter 11

**Dear freaking lord! If ThunderCats doesn't get a new season I'm taking things into my own hands, Evabon and all, and finishing it my way and I know there are others thinking the same thing as me so there I got that out and we now return to your reading enjoyment.**

**Replacement**

Bourchier had died. The evabon who had guarded the tomb of Nomit was no more and so he was replaced. Young Rotherham, a green skinned evabon of seventeen, stood outside of the tombs entrance, nothing more but a replacement of one who had been much beloved. Rotherham doubted he could ever take Bourchier's place.

Bourchier had been caught in the crossfire between two warring evabon clans and killed when he had been pushed from the ledge. Bourchier had been trying to stop the fighting and paid for it with his life. Beloved husband, father and friend of his comrades, no one could replace Bourchier who had protected Nomit's tomb with a great vigilance.

Rotherham could never be the evabon Bourchier had been. He was nothing more but a replacement as a tomb guard. He couldn't be the evabon Bourchier had been but he could be himself. Rotherham would be better of being himself rather than someone he wasn't.

As Rotherham stood outside of the tombs entrance Panthro walked towards him. To the young evabon, the cat was a giant with otherworldly arms, the survivor of a hundred battles that Rotherham couldn't imagine.

With Panthro was Autolycus. Rotherham starred he starred nervously at his leader. He didn't know why Autolycus was with Panthro but he knew it couldn't be good.

"Rotherham, tell Panthro what you know about the Nomit." Rotherham's mouth opened but words didn't come out. He was nervous, too nervous. Autolycus shook his head. "Maybe we should go back to Terag so he can talk our ears off but them again I don't approve of his disapproval of me not acknowledging I have a daughter." Panthro looked at Rotherham with gentle eyes, not the critical eyes of Autolycus. From what Panthro had been told Rotherham had his new job thrust upon him too quickly and his predecessor had been quite the legend among his clan. It was hard for Rotherham to get used to it and the old soldier could see what was wrong in the young guardian.

"You do what you want, I'm going to keep this boy company."


	12. Chapter 12

**Welcome back, gang. Rotherham was basically created as an evabon equivalent of Lion-O, as many of you might have already figure out, but in the same way he's his own character. Enjoy.**

**Nomit of Lovel**

Rotherham watched as Panthro looked into the tombs entrance. As Panthro looked into the tomb, wondering what kind of an evabon was buried in there. Rotherham wouldn't speak and Panthro did not want to go to Asaji for the information.

Panthro walked into the tomb. He was curious for one his age and he wanted to know just who was buried here. Autolycus had referred to the one buried here as Nomit, and beside a name Panthro knew nothing more about this person.

Rotherham followed. It was his duty to protect this tomb and he would protect it.

As Panthro looked at the walls of the tomb, basically just a cave, he noticed the paintings on it. As he looked closer he saw that the paintings told a story: Nomit's story.

A wealthy and generous evabon was what Nomit had been. He seemed to have been different from the evabon of the present day. He seemed to have been not unlike a citizen of Thundera.

Rotherham kept his eyes on Panthro. He couldn't have been the evabon Bourchier had been but he could still protect the tomb. He knew that Panthro meant no danger Bourchier would have been ready to attack even if someone wasn't dangerous, always prepared. Rotherham saw no need to attack someone unless they had proven themselves a danger to the tomb. Panthro wasn't a danger to the tombs none of the ThunderCats were except for the one called Pumyra. There was something terribly sinister about her but he would never say that to her or any of the other ThunderCats. In fact he hadn't been able to talk because of the pressure everyone was putting on him. How could he be himself when everyone expected him to be like Bourchier?

Panthro had become confused as he looked at the paintings on the cave wall. He wished Rotherham could talk so he could explain to him what was going on.

Rotherham saw Panthro's confusion. He knew Nomit's story, he knew it as well as any evabon. Nomit had been a wealthy and famously generous gentleman from the city of Lovel. When he had discovered the true state of his financial position, Nomit's former friends abandoned him and in disgust he retreated to this very cave that became his tomb to rail against his own kind. He became a philosopher, believing all sentient races were evil all because of he abandonment and so he died of an illness believing that.

That was a story that Rotherham knew to be a warning. No one should ever see a race as entirely evil. It would only lead to unhappiness.


	13. Chapter 13

**Welcome back, gang. In my eyes the most challenging character to write is one who doesn't talk thus Rotherham doesn't talk. He's meant to be the opposite of other evabon like Terag who simply can't stop talking. So Rotherham won't speak unless I think he has to, keep him silent for now. Enjoy.**

**Flaws**

Panthro sat outside of the tomb. He was just trying to make sense of all the paintings on the tomb walls. He could barely tell who was suppose to be who and didn't get that far due to frustration of not being able to tell which was Nomit and what was going on.

Rotherham watched Panthro. His thoughts weren't about Nomit about Bourchier, his father. The pressure was harder than some could realize. Bourchier just wasn't another tomb guardian he was Rotherham's father. How could everyone expect him to be like his own father? It was written that most sons eventually became their fathers, that the story of life was a generational one.

Rotherham didn't want to become his father. He wanted to be his own person. He didn't want to be anyone but himself.

He then remembered something Montmarte had once said. Montmarte was a rival of Terag whom was often painted in a negative light by Terag just so the impressive looking blabbermouth of a warrior would look more heroic compared to the pacifistic philosopher that was Montmarte.

Montmarte had once said that a person makes their life have meaning not who their parent is.

That saying caused Terag to become angry and persuade Autolycus to cast out Montmarte. The saying went against Autolycus' belief that someone should become their parent in order to keep the parent's presence around. The reason Autolycus wanted a son was more to do with him wanting his presence to still be in the valley of the tombs after his death. So Autolycus cast out Montmarte and branded him with a mark that would let all evabon know that Montmarte was to forever be an outcast, unable to join any evabon clan: it was the mark of eternal loneliness.

All that thinking made Rotherham wonder how Autolycus still had everyone's support. Autolycus was impossibly flawed. He also had unbelievable expectations of people, trying to make the younger generations in his image. Rotherham was perhaps one of the few who did not end up becoming like Autolycus because he had taken note of the prominent of Autolycus' flaws. The most prominent of his flaws was his prejudiced nature towards women, believing they are only good for raising children, and towards grey skins simply because he considered them to be unnatural. Rotherham had also noticed that when at his worst, Autolycus could be a down right egotist only causing him to wonder how Autolycus ever got the support of everyone to become leader.


	14. Chapter 14

**Welcome back, gang. The next chapter will be posted on Monday since I'll be partaking on the author strike tomorrow. Enjoy. **

**Kids in a Tomb**

Balor, the Wilys and Snark explored Saec's tomb. Autolycus hadn't assigned anyone to guard that tomb. The tomb already had the body stolen so Autolycus didn't see a point of having it guarded.

"So who is this 'Saec' any way?" Kat looked at the walls of the tomb. The paintings on it seemed to be telling a story.

"Just some consul and dictator that got murdered." Balor patted Snarf. He knew Saec's story, every evabon child knew that story.

"You mean this guy?" Kat pointed at an evabon being stabbed by eight others. Balor looked at the picture and nodded.

"Yeah, that's him!" Kit looked at the picture. She then looked at Balor.

"What did he do to deserve that?" Balor shrugged.

"How should I know, he was a dictator." Kat looked at Balor.

"What's a dictator?" Balor shrugged again.

"I don't know, nothing good I guess." They then walked further into the tomb until they came to a crossroads of sorts. They all looked at the three paths. Balor scratched his head as he tried to figure out which way they should go. Ultimately, Balor pointed at one of the paths. "This way I guess."

"You guess?" Balor nodded at Kat's question. "That's it, we're gonna die in here!" Kit shook her head.

"The entrance is that way." Kit pointed in the direction they had just come from. Why did her brother have to be like that? Just why?


	15. Chapter 15

**Welcome back, gang. I've discovered the source of behind the story purges. Regular Fan Fiction users known as "Critics United." They will post any forum they don't like on their forum and then they have their members mass report it until the story is deleted. In their forum they have stated that they hope to cause another purge soon. These aren't critics ladies and gentlemen these are bullies. "Critics United?" More like "Bullies United!" They don't offer constructive criticism, they flame and poke fun and they call the authors whose stories have been deleted because of their villainous nature: immature and likely to complain about them. They often use condescension in their poorly named "constructive criticism. Now that I've gotten that out there, we now return to your reading enjoyment. Enjoy.**

**Discoveries of Children**

The three kids walked down one of the paths in the tomb. The path was the one that had been going left and the three kids plus Snarf found there to be something eerie about tomb. Eerie, scary, spooky, those were all words they had used to describe the tomb.

As they walked through the tomb, Kit looked at Balor and compared him to Gard. While he did resemble Gard, Balor had the acrobatic build that she and her brother had. Gard was a bit like Panthro physically and Balor's contrast in physical appearance made him less of a mirror of a young Gard and more of what Balor was, a young relative, not Gard but his own person. Balor wore what looked like a combination of a bandana and a scarf around his neck, red in color. Everything Balor was red. His shorts, his wristbands, the single band around his right ankle all of it was red. Kit wondered why Balor would wear red. If it was to be thankful for life wouldn't black be better since evabon blood was black?

The kids came to a dead end. Kat let out an annoyed sigh. What was the point of going this way if they were only to come to a dead end?

Balor tapped on the wall and a hollow sound was heard. Kat and Kit both looked at the wall. What was behind it? No one would make a tomb with a dead end. Actually, this was basically just a cave that was turned into a tomb and this wall was clearly made from bricks. They had been poorly been placed there. Something was being hidden.

Balor tapped the wall again and this time the bricks fell over completely. What was behind it caused the children and Snarf to gasp.


	16. Chapter 16

**Welcome back, gang. You get to see what Snarf and the kids discovered and the Hunter makes his debut. For the Hunter I mentally cast Paul Dobson who is well known for voicing such hateful villains as Naraku from Inuyasha. Enjoy. **

**The Burial Chamber of Saec**

Rubies, gold, silver, bronze! All of this was before the eyes of Snarf and the kids. There wasn't a shrouded body but a large sarcophagus. There was nothing naturalistic about this. This burial chamber was grand in appearance!

Balor walked over to the sarcophagus. He heard heard the body had been stolen he just had to know! He opened it not without difficulty with help from Kat he was able to open it. Once it was opened, Kit walked over to look with the two boys but she quickly turned away. Kat swallowed and slowly turned away but Balor was paralyzed by what he saw. He couldn't look away.

A skeleton. A skeleton in armor with a crown upon its head was what was starring up at Balor. Saec's body hadn't been stolen! It was still here! This was the true burial chamber and there was Saec's body. The eye sockets might have been empty but it was frightening for something like that to be starring at children.

The stories Balor had heard were right! Saec was an egotist! Why else would the burial chamber be so grand?

Footsteps then came to their ears. Balor turned his head to look at the figure standing at the entrance of the burial chamber. His eyes widened and at that same moment Snarf hissed at the figure.

The figure was… they weren't sure what he was. A horse? A crocodile? A moose? A camel? A donkey? They had no idea? The figure's head was skull like in appearance and had blank white eyes. His clothing was royal-like in appearance with a cape and a winged helmet! The person was holding a war hammer that must have been their height. His skin was the same grey as Gard and Balor's but besides skin color they were nothing alike.

"Well, well, well. A grey-skin." The Hunter, for that's who he was, laughed. "Evabon like you are so rare that I think I'll have you stuffed and mounted." Balor swallowed and started to back away in fear. The Hunter then looked at Kat and Kit. "And cats, too! Don't worry I'll get to your race eventually!" He then lifted his hammer up. "You three are going to lead me to what is calling me as protection from those savage sentinels out there." The Hunter then walked towards them, his sandaled footsteps echoing through the burial chamber. Kat and Kit backed away, so did the still hissing Snarf.

"We won't lead you to anything!" The Hunter looked down at Balor. An evil grin appeared on his skull-like face as he noticed the open sarcophagus. He brought down his hammer onto the skeleton of Saec.

"Oh, I think you will! Even if you don't know where what is calling me is, I'll still get the satisfaction out of killing an evabon and starting my cat hunt early." The kids all stood shaking in terror. Something that escaped them and the Hunter was one thing. Snarf was missing!


	17. Chapter 17

**Welcome back, gang. We now bring Gard, Zuvowang and Dalv into the story in this chapter. Also Rotherham finally speaks! I mentally cast Jack DeSena for him. Enjoy.**

**Grey-skins meet Grey-skins**

Snarf ran out of the tomb! He ran so fast that he ran into the right leg of a large evabon. Old, charcoal grey skin, red eyes like fire burn scars on the body, only wearing a pair of trousers. This wasn't Gard. The old evabon looked down at Snarf. As Snarf looked up, horrified of this burn-covered evabon. He might not have had any weapons on him but he looked really strong. The evabon knelt down and pat Snarf on the back.

"Say… what are you?" The evabon continued to pat Snarf. "Do you live in this here tomb?" The evabon looked at the still frightened Snarf. "Come now, I might be known as vengeance incarnate but you have nothing to fear of old-"

"Zuvowang?" The evabon turned around. Snarf saw Panthro walking towards them. The evabon starred for a moment and then nodded.

"I remember you, the panther!" Panthro nodded.

"My name's Panthro." Panthro extended his hand. Zuvowang stood up and shook Panthro's hand. "What brings you here?" Zuvowang breathed.

"A dream!"

At the other end of the valley, Tygra and Cheetara saw a familiar face. It was Gard! Wearing a red headband that was the only thing from Gard's previous wardrobe that they recognized. He was wearing an orange and blue uniform from what could be seen of was the shirt. His arms were bare and there was a gold band on each arm, both dull in appearance. The shoulders of his shirt were the same dull gold color, around the base of his neck was also a dull gold collar and around his wrists were bands that were also dull gold in color. It seemed that there was plenty of dull gold on Gard's clothing. On his shirt, which must have been some kind of evabon armor there was a small circle on his shirt which spread to the back with an 'X' making the half orange, half-blue shirt or armor something that could have been a predecessor to some of the other types of armor Tygra and Cheetara had seen. Gard was wearing a loincloth, leaving his legs bare Grad made Tygra think of the evabon he had seen in a slave camp and how they had been forced to live in such terrible conditions. Gard was wearing a carved sword belt white in color with a yellow circle in the middle of it. Strangely, Gard wasn't barefoot but wearing sandals. Also on the right side of Gard's belt hung a holster with a gun in it, while on the left side hung a claymore and a tomahawk.

"Why the difference in clothing and the sudden carrying of weaponry?" Cheetara looked at Gard.

"We are living in dangerous times, the clothing is the uniform of my clans warriors much has changed since then." Gard let out a sigh. "And I saw something in a dream that brought me here."

Lion-O and Pumyra looked at the bluish-grey evabon standing before them. Dressed in trousers and a tunic, he was wearing a yellow bandana and a pair of black boots. From his right side hung a gun and from the left side a sabre. The evabon's green eyes starred at the two cats.

"Dalv?" The evabon nodded at Pumyra's question. "Why are you here and why are you dressed like that?"

"I told you." Dalv scratched his left hand. "This is where Sotark is imprisoned and I'm here to join two other grey-skinned evabon. As for why am I dressed like this, I never liked having my scars exposed. Like having a target painted on my body."

And so the three grey evabon came face to face. At the statue of Antaeus, all of the evabon spoke. Autolycus starred angrily. It was no secret he was prejudiced towards grey skins but he simply couldn't stand having more than one in his presence.

"So Sotark is the reason we've all come here." Gard stroked his chin. He never could have imagined. Him having to go up against Sotark? At least he wouldn't have to go up against him alone.

"Why do I get all the breaks?" Zuvowang's voice was full of sarcasm. He had been going through so much in his long life that he hoped he'd never have to face Sotark.

"I don't know who will win the battle but I know this is our destiny." Dalv nodded at his own statement. It was so simple.

The ThunderCats starred in interest at these three evabon. While Snarf was being vocal, they were listening in intently. Who was this Sotark? Finally, Autolycus walked over to the three grey skins.

"What are you old grey skins going on about?" Rotherham, one of the evabon present, shook his head at how Autolycus was acting. "Gard, find that spawn of yours and leave! The lot of you! I won't allow grey skins in this valley!"

Autolycus felt a hand tap his shoulder. He turned around and saw a fist coming towards his face. Within seconds, he was knocked down. Autolycus starred angrily up at Rotherham. Autolycus opened his mouth to speak but instead it was Rotherham that spoke.

"You do deserve that!" Autolycus's eyes changed from an angry look to a shocked look. Rotherham was actually talking? "And for record I've been trying to tell you for a whole hour that those kids went into the tomb of Saec and not long after some weird looking thing with a hammer entered the tomb!" Gard's eyes widened. So did the eyes of the ThunderCats. Balor, Kat and Kit were in danger! They knew it! "No doubt that's what this here pet was trying to warn us about." Rotherham pointed at Snarf and then looked back down at Autolycus. "I say we get to saving!" Gard placed a hand on Rotherham's shoulder.

"Lead the way, young chieftain." Rotherham looked at Gard with wide eyes. Chieftain? Him? A chieftain was a leader. He wasn't sure if he could be a leader. Could he?


	18. Chapter 18

**Welcome back, gang. We've reached the climax! I hope you enjoy it.**

**Free Today**

Telepathically, Sotark called out. He called to one who would free him. He had to be free! He was the master of justice, earthquakes, the art of sculpture, the dead and terror. He had to be free! Someone was answering his call, not an evabon but still someone who was strong.

He felt the presence of the one he had been calling coming closer. There were three others with him. Children. Being used as hostages to protect himself from the guards of Sotark's prison no doubt.

In a matter of minutes the person Sotark had been calling to appeared! He was a strange being, as strange as two of the children that were with him. Only one of the three children was an evabon. The other two were strange creatures, different from the adult with the hammer but still strange.

"Free me!" Sotark's voice echoed in the minds of those present. The one he had been calling to raised his hammer.

"I'll gladly free you!" The person stepped closer to the crystal that Sotark was trapped in. "I am the Hunter! I intend to hunt every race that is not my own to extinction and I shall!"

"Drop your hammer! The Hunter turned around, as did the children and saw a bunch of evabon and cats standing near the entrance of the chamber. The Hunter starred at disbelief of the evabon who was talking. It was Gard. "Yes, I survived. I didn't last this long only to be killed by a maniac like you."

"I'll kill you later, old savage." The Hunter turned back to the crystal that kept Sotark imprisoned. Then an arrow flew past the Hunter and hit the crystal. Everyone turned to look at a shocked Autolycus. There was a look of fear on his face.

"No…" Autolycus's eyes were wide and he was shaking his head. "Not me!" The crystal began to crack and within seconds Sotark had broken free. As Sotark broke free, a blast of fire destroyed Autolycus. It had been written that whoever freed Sotark would die. Autolycus hadn't been scared because he had missed he was scared because of what he had done.

Everyone starred in terror at Sotark. He towered over them looking around. "Where is it?" Sotark stomped forward towards the group at the entrance of the chamber. "Where is my hammer?"

"Find a sword your size and fall on the blade!" Sotark starred at Rotherham. This youth dared to insult him? "You'll find your hammer that way!" Sotark clenched his fists and brought them down on the floor of the chamber. The earth began to shake and hs everyone in the chamber fled, Sotark made his escape. He escaped through the network of tunnels until he found himself looking up at the moon. He was free at last!


	19. Chapter 19

**Welcome back, gang. Now I might be teasing you with this ending but that can be for you to decide. Enjoy.**

**Death and Injury**

Gard ran through the tomb. Just like everyone else, he was running to get out of the tomb before it came crashing down. He wasn't even paying attention to what was going on, he was only trying to get out.

Autolycus was dead. He had not deserved to die like that. No matter how arrogant he had been Autolycus shouldn't have died like that. Gard would not wish that fate upon anyone. Autolycus had died a death that he had not deserved and it was quite possible that the collapsing tomb would bury him. It was quite possible that no one would be able to retrieve his body to give it a proper burial. It caused Gard to wonder that if in the years to come if Autolycus' body was to be found and retrieved who would find it? What would find it? Would they be the kind of person to treat Autolycus' body with respect or to drag it behind a chariot?

And now Sotark was free. The only evabon that fit the belief that evabon were monsters. Sotark had at one point been a shaman before becoming more war-like. He had become tempted by watching battles from a far and would often steal the results of the carnage. What he did with those results no one knew. Sotark was petty and cruel. He would play anyone smaller than him for his sport, plague them with suffering and besiege them with terrors. Sotark's first victim had been his own father whom he killed only for the sake of gaining power. His second victim had been his own wife for the sake of survival. Ultimately, it had been Sotark's favorite son that had imprisoned him in the crystal. Not powerful enough to destroy Sotark, his son could only imprison him. And now that monster was free, free to return to what he used to do.

By the time they all got out, Gard finally started paying attention to what was going on around him. Unfortunately, it was the worst possible way for him to come back to what was happening. He had heard a shout of "Get out of my way!" It had been from the Hunter. Gard turned around and saw the Hunter get Balor out of his way by hitting him in the side with his hammer. Gard starred at Balor. He couldn't even tell if Balor had survived that blow.

As the Hunter fled the scene, Tygra started to run after him until stopped by Gard. "Let him go." Tygra turned and looked at Gard. Why would he say that? "He can wait." Gard then turned his head to look back at Balor. Kat and Kit were kneeling next to the young evabon's form. "There are other people to worry about."

**To be continued in "The Tale of Antaeus"**

**Well, that's the end of this story. Join me on Sunday for the beginning of my next story. Until then, read and review.**


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